Representatives of two of the most important sports competitions in the world, the NBA American and the German Football League (Bundesliga) They coincided this Tuesday in Buenos Aires on the importance of Latin American markets for their sector.
The head of Europe and Latin America for the Bundesliga, Robin Austermann; the director of the NBA for Latin America, Arnon de Mello; and the vice president of the IMG group for Latin America, Guillermo Santa Cruz, participated in a round table within the framework of Sportel Rendez-vous, a prominent annual meeting between federations, television channels and companies dedicated to sports production held in Buenos Aires .
The event, which takes place for the first time in a Spanish-speaking country and runs until this Wednesday, has EFE as a collaborating media outlet.
During the round table, representatives of the German Football League and the most important basketball competition on the planet discussed the various situations in the main markets of the region.
In the Argentine case, they recognized the central role played by ‘sports stars’ who compete in their respective tournaments to popularize their competitions in the country.
“We cannot depend solely on having those stars to maintain the market,” assured De Mello, who regretted the lack of Argentine players this season in the NBA.
In addition, the director of the competition in the region expressed his desire that matches from the US tournament could be played in Argentina, but acknowledged that, for the moment, Mexico is the main focus of growth for the NBA in Latin America.
In that sense, Austermann differentiated the position of the German soccer league from that of the basketball competition.
“Our efforts are in ‘marketing’ activities (…) In working with the community,” noted the representative of the Bundesliga.
Asked about the Brazilian market, another of the main ones in the sports field, the participants in the round table recognized the differences of operating in this country with their experiences in others.
“(Brazilians) are attracted by the ‘celebrity’ factor of the NBA, and in that, our competition is a lot like soccer”De Mello noted.
Regarding the possibility that the basketball competition eventually expands to Latin America with the transfer or creation of sports franchises outside the United States and Canada, De Mello considered the case of Capitanes de Mexico City, which has been competing since the season, a good precedent. 2021-2022 in the NBA G League, also organized by the North American Basketball Association.
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Source: Gestion
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